Mayor's Corner: Riders to pass through St. James on Friday

Friday

Jun 13, 2014 at 2:55 AM

Mayor Dennis Wilson

This Friday, June 13, the annual “Remember the Removal” bike riders will pass through St. James after spending the night at Maramec Spring Park, enroute to their final destination in Oklahoma. The ride is an annual event commemorating the forced removal of the Cherokee Indian tribe from the Carolinas to their resettlement lands in Oklahoma. The volunteer riders and their escort vehicles will pass through our community on Highways 8/68 (Jefferson Street) early Friday morning. Maramec Spring Park marks the end of Thursday’s ride after spending the previous night in Potosi.The ride traces the approximate path of one of the routes taken by the Cherokee tribes forced from their ancestral homes in North and South Carolina. Our local history, and that of the Maramec Iron Works, places this area on the northern-most route taken during the forced evacuation. The Snelson-Brinker Cabin, just east of the Meramec River Bridge is a registered Trail of Tears landmark.St. James residents interested in welcoming the “Remember the Removal” riders and their entourage as they pass through St. James is urged to be on the Plaza or in the downtown area by 8:00 a.m. or so Friday morning. The exact time of their arrival is unknown, but last year they passed through mid-morning. For more information on the “Remember the Removal” ride and its significance, check the website, www.cherokee.org/remembertheremoval/Home.aspx or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/removal.ride.

While our ponds, lakes, streams and rivers have benefited from the extremely wet weather we’ve experienced this Spring, it has certainly increased the rate of growth of our lawns, thereby requiring more frequent mowing and caretaking. Those areas which the city crews maintain are no exception. Keeping up with the mowing of municipal areas is especially difficult given the additional responsibility ownership of the St. James Cemetery and Park have placed on our crews. I commend those residents and property owners who keep their properties well cared for and often go a little extra by mowing the easements and right-of-ways adjacent to their properties.